The
National Park Service and Dare County will host two open-house style
meetings on Jan. 27 in Manteo and Jan. 28 in Buxton to get input from
the public on the county's plan to prepare a draft Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on beach nourishment in north Buxton.

Dare
County has asked the Park Service for a special use permit to pump sand
onto the eroding beaches in the area to protect Highway 12. In order to
do that, the county needs -- and has requested -- a special use permit
from NPS.

The DEIS will assist the agency in determining whether, where, and under what conditions it will issue the permit.

The
National Park Service published its notice of intent to prepare the
draft EIS in the Federal Register on Dec. 29, which started the public
scoping process.

“This Notice of Intent is an important step
in moving forward the request from Dare County government for a Special
Use Permit needed for related activities that may be necessary for the
protection of Highway 12 in the Buxton area of Hatteras Island,” said
Superintendent Dave Hallac said today in a news release. “We know
there is extensive interest in this issue and we encourage the public
to comment on this proposal.”

The release also stated,
"Park management staff are working closely with Dare County officials
to ensure the NPS’s portion of the environmental review is completed in
a timely manner."

NPS says the public open houses are to further
discuss the proposed activities, the planning process and environmental
analysis, and acquire the public's thoughts and ideas about the
proposed activities.

The meetings will be:

Tuesday,
Jan. 27, from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Dare County Government Offices, 954
Marshall C. Collins Drive, First Floor, Room 168, in Manteo.

Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Fessenden Center Activity Room on Highway 12 in Buxton.

Comments
can be submitted electronically at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/caha
or in writing to the Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401 National
Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954. Written comments will be
accepted when postmarked no later than Feb. 27, and electronic comments
can be entered until midnight (ET) on Feb. 27. No fax or email
comments will be accepted.